


Nine

by steveharringtonofficial



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, lab experiment reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-03-03 05:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13334550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steveharringtonofficial/pseuds/steveharringtonofficial
Summary: After escaping the lab in the midst of it being run over by demodogs, you run into a friendly face and he helps to take care of you.





	1. Chapter 1

Sweat dripped down your face as you ran through the forest. You didn’t know where you were going – you didn’t care. You just wanted to be out, to be free from the hell that your life had been. You couldn’t get the screams out of your mind. The tear, those things coming from it, everyone there torn to shreds. If it weren’t for your abilities, you would never have escaped.

You stopped for a breather, looking around to see trees in every direction. And, just your luck, it started raining. You didn’t have any clothes, just the robe they gave you in the lab and you’d surely die if it kept up. You rubbed your hands together, embers flying from the friction, trying to warm yourself up. But alas, your flame couldn’t keep you warm, not unless you could find something dry to light on fire.

You began walking in the same direction you had been running in before, at least you thought you were. But you halted to a stop when you heart rustling, then footsteps running quickly, and then stop. You hid behind a nearby tree and tried to peer out and see who – or what – you had almost stumbled into.

Thankfully, it wasn’t one of the monsters who had crawled out of the gaping hole. It was only a boy. He looked about the same age as you, you thought. With black hair? It was hard to tell in the rain. He was carrying something in his hands, trying desperately to cover it with his jacket. A camera. You had recognised it as being similar to ones they used in the labs. You were about to step out, hoping he would be friendly enough to help you, but he began walking away again.

You followed him, careful not to surprise him, all the way to a house. It was small, on one floor, and unlike anything you’d ever seen before. You were used to the pristine white walls of the lab, stretching out over a multitude of floors. Yet the smallness of it seemed comforting to you, cosy, and it drew you in.

The boy looked around when he reached the door and did a double take as he saw you. He put the camera down on the porch, where the rain didn’t reach and cautiously walked towards you.

“Who are you?” He called out, still walking towards you.

Who are you? You thought to yourself and you didn’t know. Your whole identity was centralised around your small number and your large powers. You shook your head and him and he looked confused. The boy finally reached you and he immediately took off his jacket and offered it to you, noticing that you were soaked through and not wearing much at all to keep you warm. You reluctantly took a hold of it when you saw the warmth in his eyes.

Except you reached out with your left arm and something caught his eye. He looked up at you with a look you weren’t expecting, one more of concern. “You’re one of them. From the lab?”

You pulled back your arm in shock, and looked back to the forest, wanting to run away from him. But you nodded and he motioned for you to come into his home. You contemplated for a second but eventually obliged, following him inside.

The house was warm but you could tell there was something off about the place. Bad things had happened here, you couldn’t tell what, but it had seeped into the aroma of the house. It felt like when you were at the lab, only on a diluted level. And then you looked up at the walls, covered in drawings of what looked like tunnels. They were all over the walls, the floor, the entire house. You felt the urge to back out of the house and run far away but the boy spoke to you again.

“I’m Jonathan, by the way.” You blinked a few times, registering his name in your mind. It was a nice name, soft.

A woman came out of one of the rooms and stopped in her tracks when she saw you. She looked tired as if she’d been through a lot during that day. It was late and if you were honest, you were surprised anyone was even awake, let alone taking pictures outside and wandering around their home at this hour.

“Who’s this?” The woman said, coming into the room more.

Jonathan looked back at you and then to her. “This is… well, she doesn’t really have a name.”

The woman looked at Jonathan with a blank expression on her face. “She doesn’t have a name?”

“She’s… She’s Nine.” Jonathan looked like he didn’t want to call you that, but it wasn’t like he had any other option and it wasn’t like you weren’t used to it anyway.

The woman mouthed the word before it clicked in her head. “Like Eleven?”

You snapped your head up to look at her. They knew Eleven? You knew she had gotten away but you didn’t know what had happened to her. Had you really stumbled into the same people who knew her as well?

Jonathan nodded, walking back to you and asking you to show her your arm. You did, lifting it up to show your number. Another boy walked out, and he looked drained as well. You could feel the mark of the rift on him but faded. He took one look at your arm and his eyes lit up.

“You’re one of them?” He asked, with slight excitement in his voice.

“Will, don’t bother her.” The woman said to him. “Come on, let’s get you warmed up.”

You had learned that the woman was the two boys’ mother, but you had guessed that when she showed up. Her name was Joyce and she was ever so kind to you. Jonathan brought you some clothes to put on, saying that his mom’s probably wouldn’t fit you since she was older. You didn’t mind though – they were proper clothes, something you hadn’t worn in, well, ever. They let you change, and when you came back, Joyce had whipped up some food for you.

They told you about what had happened that day, why they were all up so late and looked so distressed. About what happened with the lab and with Eleven, who a lot of them now called El. You were thankful that she managed to close the ‘gate’, as they called it. You saw the horror that it had unleashed and didn’t want anything like that to happen to anyone again. You also understood why when you saw Will, his presence felt just like at the lab, since he was a host to the monster behind the gate.

They let you sleep on the sofa that night, and said they would let you see El in the morning. Jonathan kept coming in to check on you, but he promised it was just because he couldn’t sleep. You couldn’t sleep either and you couldn’t tell if it was just because you were in a new place, if you were scared that someone would come and take you back, or if you simply weren’t tired.

Eventually, you and Jonathan ended up sitting together on the couch. You weren’t talking or anything, but he was keeping you company. He decided to make breakfast early considering neither of you could sleep. He said he was making bacon and eggs, though you had no idea what that is considering they only fed you what could be comparable to swamp food in the lab. But it smelled nice, and it drew you to the kitchen where he was cooking.

“Hey,” Jonathan said with a smile. He turned to you from where he was cooking but kept an eye on the pan. “Smells good, doesn’t it?”

You nodded and walked towards him, looking at what he was cooking. It looked simple, yet interesting. You watched him finish up and put it on some plates, and take it over to the table that was further into the room. You followed him over to it, sitting down when he placed the plates at two of the settings. He sat down next to you and began eating what was on his plate and you did the same. The second you tasted the bacon, you had to stop yourself from shoving the whole thing in your mouth. After years and years of tasting the same thing every single day, it was so good to finally taste something with flavour. And the eggs were divine as well. You finished well and truly before Jonathan did and he let out a little laugh at how satisfied you were with your breakfast.

“I’m not even that good a cook but you seemed to enjoy that.” His voice was full of surprise and he gave you a warm smile before taking another mouthful.

You nodded and returned his smile. This stranger had shown you so much kindness in such little time and you didn’t know how to deal with it.

“So I was thinking, we could go see Hopper later? So that you can see El? I’ll need to phone him and ask but it should be alright.” You understood. El would likely be exhausted from yesterday with all the hard work that she did. She would also likely be surrounded by her many caring friends, who Jonathan told you would likely be as excited as Will was when he saw you.

Speaking of Will, when he woke up, he was asking you all sorts of questions, what the lab was like, what your powers were, and things like that. He almost jumped up in excitement when you showed him a little flame from your hands and you tried to explain there was more you could do as well - tap into electricity, control wind, adapt water. You didn’t have the words to explain your control over the elements but Will seemed to understand even through your limited vocabulary. He said you were better than El was at first, and you understood that because she was kept mostly away from everyone and everything for reasons that you didn’t know. They were much more social with you, but you thought that was because your abilities seemed much more immediately destructive than El’s psychokinetic abilities.

Jonathan eventually phoned the man called Hopper when it seemed like a late enough time in the morning. He explained the situation, and you couldn’t hear through the phone but it sounded like he was understanding. Jonathan hung up and said that it would be okay for the two of you to go over, and Will if he wanted, and that El was excited to see you, though she hadn’t seen you in years.

Jonathan took you to his car and let you get in. Will had decided to come along also and hopped into the back. It didn’t take long to reach the little cabin out in the woods, where El had been staying for the last year. It was small, smaller than Jonathan’s home, but still had the same cosy demeanour to it.

Will got out of the car first and ran up to the door, knocking on it. You and Jonathan got out almost simultaneously and you followed him to the door where a man with a beard had opened it. He had what you thought was a kind face and the boys seemed to trust him.

“Hey Will,” he said, allowing Will in to go see El. He nodded towards Jonathan. “Hey. This must be Nine. Are you okay with me calling you that?” He asked, concerned that he might offend you by calling you your lab number.

You nodded and he walked out of the cabin to meet you. He held out his hand but you looked at it confusedly, unsure of what he was doing. “You shake it, like this.” He reached for your hand, taking it gently and placing it into his, shaking it lightly. “Sometimes people greet each other like that.” You nodded, taking in his small lesson. “I’m Hopper, Jim Hopper.” He smiled at you but you saw a face peering at you from inside the door.

A head of curly brown hair who you thought must have been Eleven. She looked slightly different without her shaven head, but right enough, if you thought hard enough, it was her.

Hopper turned behind him to see what you were looking at and smiled, beckoning her to come out. She walked out and down the stairs towards you.

“Nine!” She said excitedly. You hadn’t thought she’d remembered you, maybe she didn’t and was just happy to see another person from the lab.

“Eleven.” You said back, unable to match her enthusiasm with how exhausted you were.

She ran up and hugged you, which you were very taken aback by. You didn’t know how to react, you’d never been shown this kind of physical contact before, but she didn’t seem to mind. She understood – she was just like you are when she first got out.

“I’m happy you’re out!” Eleven said again with much enthusiasm. She took your left hand and began tracing the fingers around your palm. “You do the magic, don’t you? With the fire?” You were surprised she even remembered that much with how little contact the two of you had when you were both more grown up.

You nodded and took your hand back, letting the embers fly again and eventually a flame came to your hand. Hopper watched you with amazement but he also seemed unenthused that there was another supernatural-like person in the mix. You quenched the flame but El’s eyes remained lit up at your sight.

“Mike will want to see you! And Dustin, and Lucas too!” She said excitedly, looking up at Hopper with pleading eyes.

“We can go see them later. I’m sure they want to check up on Will anyway.” Jonathan said with a smile. “If you want to do that?” He asked, making sure that you were comfortable with all that was happening.

“Safe?” You asked. You didn’t want to get your hopes up and then be dragged off back to the lab to live out your life in solitary confinement.

Jonathan looked at you with sympathy. “Safe.” He nodded, giving you a small smile. “Mike’s the one who helped El at first when she got out.”

You glanced over at El who was smiling up at Jonathan, and you decided that it would be okay to meet the rest of the kids.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet the kids, who you find to be absolute delights. But something bad is lurking just around the corner.

You had to say you were quite surprised when you met the kids – they were more boisterous as you thought they’d be. Mike clung to El a lot, you noticed and after you heard about their yearlong separation, you guessed that you shouldn’t have been surprised. But he acted as if she could disappear any moment, as if the girl couldn’t handle herself.

The other two, Lucas and Dustin, were both drastically different than the others. Will was quiet but excitable. Mike was also quiet, and also seemed a bit moody but you could see him laugh every now and then. Lucas seemed the most mature out of the lot, with constant rolls of the eyes at their dumb jokes. And Dustin didn’t waste a single second in asking you every single question under the sun. But you didn’t mind, he seemed genuinely interested and intrigued by what you could do and what you had been through.

Jonathan hovered around you the whole time, very wary that you might be too overwhelmed by everything. But you seemed to handle it perfectly. The boys eventually came up with the idea that they had to give you a nickname, like they had with El, since it didn’t really seem right to just call you Nine all the time, almost disrespectful.

It was about five minutes of humming and gasping in realisation, and then frowning because “no, that doesn’t work” before Will came up with an idea.

“Amber.” He said, all three of the other boys looks at him, El as well, confused as to why he would choose that when it wasn’t related to Nine in any way.

Will explained with a smile on his face. “She can cast fire, among other things, and when she does, there are little sparks of embers. So - Amber - since it sounds like ember.” They all oh-ed in realisation, looking up at you for approval.

You nodded. “Nice.” You did quite like the name, it had a soft tone to it, and it was much more preferable than being labelled a single number. And Jonathan seemed to like it, too, a small bonus for you.

* * *

You stayed at the Byers’ for a while, since you had nowhere to go, and it was slowly becoming home for you. The party – that’s what they told you their group was called – often hung around the Byers’, or they went to Mike’s. You’d see them more often than not, however, and they were constantly pressing you for questions.

The only issue with staying there was the space - it was a three-room house, a three- _bed_ house. And while you always offered to sleep on the couch, Jonathan refused, letting you take up refuge in his cosy room. You did like it, and you admired Jonathan for how willing he was to give up his things just so other people were comfortable, but you couldn’t help but feel bad.

Everyone thought you were pretty cool, especially in winter where you could spark up a fire just with a wave of your hand, or start the car when it broke down by tapping into nearby electricity to give it a jump start. You were pretty handy, and all Joyce asked of you was to try and not burn the house down, it had been through too much. Even Hopper began to warm up to you after his unsubtle wariness of you in the beginning. He was over all the time, whether it was to drop El off or to check up on Joyce.

You were far more trained in your abilities than Eleven was, and you could control them more easily. You didn’t know if it was just a natural thing you had always been able to do, or if it had something to do with the rigorous training they put you through, testing you every single day. You had to thank them for that, and only that, otherwise you didn’t know how well you’d be able to handle them. You only sometimes had trouble when you were anxious but you were relatively certain you wouldn’t be getting into any problems with how long it had been since you escaped. No one had come for you yet.

* * *

_BANG BANG BANG_

You jutted awake, sitting up in the bed in an instant, unsure if what you heard was in your dreams or not. But you heard shuffling about the house, it had woken everyone up and not just you.

_BANG. BANG. BANG._

There it was again. You got to your feet, quickly slipping on some clothes before sliding out of your room to see what the commotion is.

“ _You are harbouring a highly dangerous individual. Give her up and we will do you no harm.”_

A voice spoke through the door and you could feel your heartbeat quicken, almost as if it would jump right out of your chest if you couldn’t calm down.

 _Shit._  This is your fault. This is all your fault. Now the bad men are here and they’re going to hurt you. They’re going to hurt your friends, people you had come to trust. All because of you and your dumb powers.

“Jonathan?” You called out, trailing your hand over the wall, trying to find your way before almost running right into him.

“Amber.” He blinked a few times to make sure it was you in the dark night light. “You have to get out of here. I can’t let them find you,” Jonathan said with utmost urgency. He pulled you towards the window at the back of the house, making you stumble slightly with the force at which he pulled you.

You sighed and shook your head at him, pointing out of the window. “Surrounded.” You said, making Jonathan peer out the window, and right enough, there were men out back, too, guns all aimed towards the house, ready to light it up in a moment’s notice.

He looked back at you but he was unable to focus. He wanted you safe. He wanted Will and his mom safe, too, of course. But all he could think about was some sort of escape plan so that you could get out and you could be safe.

You had an idea. It was you who got them into this mess. It’s your fault that these people are here. you’re going to be the one to fix it, no matter the cost. You put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, giving him an affirmative nod of the head before walking towards the front door. His eyes washed over you in an anxious glance but you were already walking away from him before he could express his worry.

You opened it slowly, revealing the faces outside. You didn’t recognise them, but then again, everyone at the lab had been killed by the demodogs – that’s what Dustin had called them. But they looked as terrifying as they should do, and it was taking all of your strength to not let your abilities take control of you.

“You need to come with us.” One said, a taller man. He had a deep voice that made you want to curl up and cry at the sound of it.

You gently shook your head and the two at the door exchanged a confused glance.

You pulled back your hands, drawing air towards you, almost pulling the two in as well. You could see the shock on their faces as they quickly realised what you were doing. But it was too late – you pushed back your hands, letting them be thrust in front of you. All of the air you had contained had gathered up into a gale and forcefully push them away from the doorway, landing them several metres away and they were not getting back up. Every other surrounding the house each had a gun, aimed right at you. You walked out, confident in your abilities.

You flexed your hand out to your right, embers spraying out as a fireball flew from your hand, directly into an armed soldier, setting him alight and making him drop his stance and flail around. The heat spread out and you could feel it wash over your face. It wasn’t long before it was all of them, set alight or electrocuted by the electricity you had managed to draw from the house. You searched around for more, checking the back of the house for those who had maybe stayed back in case something like this happened. You couldn’t see anyone and determined it was safe once more. But you weren’t. You never would be.

Jonathan ran out when you had stopped, with Will standing at the door and Joyce hugging him protectively. He grabbed your shoulders and then pulled you into a hug. You were unsure of what to do but he pulled away quicker than you could react anyway.

“You’re okay?” Jonathan asked you, brown eyes searching you for signs of damage.

You nodded trying to assure him you had not a scratch on you but he kept looking for signs of you being hurt. He pulled his hands back away from your shoulders when he could finally see that you were alright.

“I can’t stay.” You whispered to him, looking at all the destruction you had caused outside. You didn’t know how you would get rid of the masses of bodies that had piled up. You didn’t know how you would get rid of the smell of burning flesh. You didn’t know what you were going to do.

Jonathan sighed, pressing his lips together. “We can talk to Hopper? Maybe he can help?” You could hear the sadness in his voice and you were not fond of the way it sounded.

But you nodded anyway. Talking to Hopper would be a good idea, after all, he did keep El hidden for a year, he’d likely be able to help you out in some way, even if not completely. Perhaps you could stay with El in the cabin? No one else knew about that place other than the people you could trust.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s all about moves. You move into the cabin with El, and Jonathan makes his move on you.

Joyce had called Hopper down to her house, warning him of the commotion that had happened outside. Jonathan made you some tea in the hopes that it would help calm your nerves since you had confessed to him that you were damn scared and had no clue what to do.

Hopper had a soft knock on the door, and Joyce went to open it while Jonathan sat and comforted you on the couch. You were sitting forward with your elbows on your knees, holding the cup in front of you while Jonathan rubbed your back gently. Will was sitting on one of the other chairs and you could tell that he wasn’t comfortable, but he kept saying how cool it was to see you do everything that you did, even if it did end so horrifically.

Hopper walked into the house, his boots stomping on the hardwood floor. He gave you a sympathetic look when he saw you and you managed a weak smile to thank him for his pity. He sat down on the chair opposite you while Joyce left to fetch him a drink.

“You did all that?” He asked you, gesturing to the door which had since been closed. You nodded your head gently, refusing to look at him out of fear he might reprimand you.

Hopper stifled a laugh. “You’re almost as deadly as El. Hell, you might be worse.”

You looked up at him and could see that he was smiling, making you feel slightly more comfortable.

He took a deep breath before continuing. “Anyway, they know you’re here now so you probably need somewhere else to go.”

Jonathan piped up, taking his hand away from your back, making you miss the odd protection that it offered. “I was thinking she could stay with El, no one else knows about the cabin except us.”

Hopper hummed. “They do know she’s alive now, though. They’ll be searching for her as well. But it’s as good an idea as any right now. I’m sure El wouldn’t mind anyway, and there’s a spare bedroom so it’s a good fit.”

Jonathan looked at you, hope in his eyes. Maybe you could stay safe from the lab. Maybe you could eventually live a normal life. But it was all maybes for just now.

Jonathan helped you pack up what little you had obtained over your few months with the Byers’ and drove you down to the cabin where El and Hopper were waiting for you. Jonathan carried the box of things to the room that was to be yours.

You pulled out a mixtape and looked at him quizzically. This wasn’t yours, what was it doing in there?

“Oh! That…” Jonathan’s eyes went wide and he went to grab it from you. “That’s a mixtape. Hopper mentioned there was a stereo around here so I made something so that you don’t forget about me in your little isolated shack.” He placed the mixtape into the slot of the stereo that was conveniently placed in your room.

It started playing Queen’s ‘ _I Want To Break Free’_  and Jonathan made a little laugh at his selection of song. “I thought this one was fitting because you escaped the lab and everything and it reminded me of you.” He smiled at you as you sat and listened to the music.

You’d heard Jonathan’s music before so you had no doubt that what he made for you would be good. “Thank you,” you said to him and he pulled you into a hug.

You were still sort of unsure about all of this physical contact escaping put you through, but Jonathan didn’t mind. He noticed your stiffness and gently pulled his hands back so that he could move your arms around himself. You decided that you liked it when you hugged Jonathan, and moved your arms slightly tighter around him.

He pulled back, rubbing your arms with his hands. “You’re gonna be okay. This – this is gonna be okay.” He smiled at you and while you were unsure of the truthfulness of his words, he gave you more hope than anything else could.

Jonathan was more trying to convince himself than you, though. He didn’t like the idea of you being out here, more or less on your own. He didn’t like the idea that he wouldn’t always be there. He didn’t like the idea of being away from you. But he had to do it. He had to do it to keep you safe and that wasn’t something he could wrap his head around. He wanted to keep you safe but in doing so he couldn’t keep you safe, only this desolate cabin could.

Of course, Jonathan couldn’t forget that you could handle yourself. He knew you didn’t need someone worrying about you, someone who fretted that each step might set off alarms. You didn’t need someone who stayed up at night hoping you were okay, and that you weren’t taken away. Because you wouldn’t let that happen, El wouldn’t let that happen. You wouldn’t go down without a fight and that helped him sleep at night.

Jonathan left you, his mixtape still playing quietly in the background. Hopper left as well and it was just you and El in the cabin.

She knocked gently on your door before coming in. You were lying on the bed, listening through each track, trying to memorise each word in order to distract you from everything else that was going on.

“Hey.” She said softly, sitting herself on the end of the bed. “Hopper left some food for us to eat for dinner if you’re hungry?”

You closed your eyes and nodded. You were feeling pretty hungry. You sat up and went to turn off the stereo, following El out of the room and to the little table. El had already set everything up, so it was a case of just sit down and eat. The two of you were silent, but it was okay. It was enjoyable, comfortable. You were here for her and she was here for you. Knowing you had El around made you feel that little bit safer.  
  
You and El had very little trouble. Hopper was teaching you how to properly cook food so that the two of you could eat more than frozen dinners and toaster waffles. Having someone older there meant that he didn’t have to come around so often to check up on El because he knew that you would do your best to make sure she wasn’t slipping up.

She would teach you new words every day, just like Hopper had done with El and still does when they find one she doesn’t understand. You were beginning to be able to form full and proper sentences, though sometimes you liked the short ones. They got straight to the point.

Jonathan would come visit almost every day after school, making sure you had enough food and that you were getting on alright. He brought you new mixtapes every now and then when he thought you might be getting a little bored of the old ones. You never really got bored of them, but you were happy for the new music anyway and highly appreciated the thought.

“He likes you,” El said a few weeks later while the two of you were eating dinner. She was grinning up at you. Jonathan had been there a few hours ago and El managed to notice every little detail.  
You hummed in question, asking her to provide more information while your mouth was still full of food.

“Jonathan. It’s the way he looks at you. It’s the same way Mike looks at me.” She explained and you nodded your head slowly, trying to figure out how she spotted this and you didn’t. Then again, you’d had zero experience with even friendships before, let alone romantic relationships. But she was just a kid as well. What would she know about love?

You couldn’t say you hadn’t noticed it, though. How every time he touched you his hand would linger just a little bit longer than before. How when he looked at you his gaze was softer than with anyone else. How he would visit every day, and wouldn’t do that to his other friends. The mixtapes began to have increasingly more love songs on them, blatant love songs. You didn’t know if he noticed, if it was intentional or if it was a subconscious thing he wasn’t even aware of.

You couldn’t say you didn’t like it.

The boy who saved you from the woods. Falling in love with you.

“He also never shuts up about you,” El said, snapping you right out of your thoughts.

“Really?” You asked and you realised you had failed to contain the excitement in your voice. El giggled and nodded. You let out a small smile and continued with your meal.

* * *

Jonathan next came over when El was out with the rest of the party, so the two of you had the cabin to yourselves.

“I made you another one,” Jonathan said with a grin, pulling out a new mixtape from his jacket pocket. He handed it to you and you flipped it over with your hands a few times as if just looking at it would show you what was on it.

“Thank you,” you said, placing it down on the coffee table and then going to sit down on the sofa.

“El said something…” you started, but you weren’t sure if you actually wanted to say it. Was it normal to ask about things like that? Should you just drop it and wait for another time? For him to say something?

“What’d she say?” He asked you, sitting next to you on a sofa a little too close for it to be just friendly.

“You like me?” You whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

Jonathan froze. He did like you, he was sure of that, but he didn’t think anyone had noticed it. He didn’t think you would ask about it.

He heard you laugh gently. “But that’s silly right?”

Jonathan thought to himself. It’s not silly. Why wouldn’t he like you? For starters, you were absolutely beautiful, he could tell that the second he laid eyes on you that night in the forest. You were amazing, holding your own, always standing up for yourself, something he definitely did not expect considering your background. He was fascinated by you and the things he could do. But most of all, you just made him happy, and being around you was all he could ever ask for.

Jonathan shook his head and you looked at him, confused as to why he was shaking his head. Surely El was wrong. Surely Jonathan didn’t like  _you_.

“I do like you.” His voice was barely audible, just as yours was. He pressed his lips together at the fact he really just admitted it to you.

You didn’t know what to say and you sat there on the couch, frozen, looking at Jonathan with a dumbstruck look on your face. He turned and his brown eyes met yours, searching for the answer to a question he hadn’t yet asked.

“Amber.” Jonathan’s voice was soft, warm, and you could melt right into it if it was a tangible thing.

He took a deep breath, eyes flicking down to look at your lips and then back up to your eyes. You’d seen people kiss. You’d seen Mike and El kiss. You’d seen Joyce and Hopper kiss. This is how it started.

Jonathan’s lips crashed onto yours for only a second before pulling away, his eyes looking everywhere but you in question of whether that was the right thing to do or not.

You could feel your fingertips go slightly tingly at all the emotions you were feeling right now. You balled them up, digging the nails into your palms gently to try and calm yourself down a bit.

Jonathan eventually looked back to you and you were silently begging for him to kiss you again. It was unlike anything you’d ever experienced. You could feel electricity surging through your body when he had kissed you, but not the kind you were used to. It was different and you wanted more of it.

He noticed this, he noticed your eyes soften when he looked back at you again, how you were still leaning slightly forward from before. He took it upon himself to bring his lips to yours once more.

And, oh, it was  _magical_. Slightly different, less hasty than before. Slow, passionate, his hand creeping up to rest in the crook of you next, the other pulling at your waist to bring you closer to him.

Your hands instinctively found their way to him, one resting on the back of his neck, fingers tangling gently in his hair.

You hadn’t heard the door open. You hadn’t heard El walk slightly into the room. You hadn’t heard her stifled giggle.

“I  _told_  you he liked you!” She said, making you and Jonathan jump apart and glare at her slightly.

You saw the boys outside of the cabin, joined by a girl you didn’t know but had been told about before. You groaned at her, looking back to Jonathan who’s face had gone bright red and you were certain you probably looked the same.

“Shit. I didn’t think Byers had it in him.” You heard Dustin say from outside.

El entered the cabin further, allowing the rest to come in and ogle yours and Jonathan’s embarrassed faces.

You grabbed the mixtape off of the table, standing up while doing so. “We can leave the kids alone?” You said, wiggling the mixtape in front of you, desperate for an escape from El and the party.

Jonathan nodded at you, the red in his face dying down to a more pink colour. You watched the kids snicker as you and Jonathan left to go to your room.

“Those kids are a handful,” Jonathan said, running a hand through his hair. His heart had finally stopped racing and he was starting to calm down a little. El scared him slightly, and he definitely was not expecting all the kids to walk in on him kissing you. Including his brother.

You nodded, sighing and placing the new mixtape in the stereo, taking the old one out and adding it to the pile. You played it on a low volume, the first track being ’ _I Just Called To Say I Love You_ ’ by Stevie Wonder and Jonathan cringed as he noticed how much he had been putting songs like that in your mixtapes recently. You smiled though, appreciative of the unconscious thought that had made Jonathan keep putting songs like this in.

Jonathan sat on your bed, head in his hands. You didn’t know what was wrong. It wasn’t like what just happened was particularly bad. In fact, you really liked it. And sure, a bunch of kids walking in on you wasn’t the best thing in the entire world but it wasn’t like you were doing anything other than kissing. More than that would have been much, much worse.

But Jonathan, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He liked you. He really,  _really_  liked you and he didn’t know what to do about it. It was killing him. He kept having thoughts running through his mind. You might get killed. You might get taken away again. He might fuck everything up and you might never want to see him again. He was too stuck in the what-ifs than what was actually happening.

And what was actually happening was that you were coming to the realisation that you liked Jonathan, too. How could you not after everything he had done for you? He was always so kind to you right from the start. Of course, you had the same worries as he did but you were a bit less pessimistic about everything. After all, you had absolutely no reason to be.

You sat next to him on the bed and he looked up at you when he felt the mattress move beside him. “What’s wrong?”

Jonathan hummed, sitting himself up and rubbing his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

You squinted your eyes at him, unbelieving and he sighed, looking away from you. “I don’t know what to do about…this.” Jonathan vaguely gestured his hands between you and him.

“This?” You repeated.

Jonathan nodded. “I want to be with you.” He started, continuing to look away and fiddle with his hands. “But I don’t know if I could handle losing you.”

You pressed your lips together. You understood his fear but you weren’t leaving. You weren’t going anywhere. “You won’t lose me.” You whispered quietly, placing your hand on his so that he would stop playing with his fingers. “I promise.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain someone comes round to the Byers’ house and you swear you’ve seen a ghost. How could he of all people be here, in Hawkins, after all this time?

Jonathan left not much later and you spent the rest of the day being completed berated by the kids. They all saw it coming. They placed damn bets on it happening. Of course they did. What more could you expect from a bunch of meddling kids?

They all seemed pretty happy about it though. The kids liked you, and they sort of looked up to you. And they thought it would help Jonathan stop being so moody all the time. Which it had, they said, Jonathan seemed happier from the day you showed up. You hadn’t noticed, but then again you didn’t know what he was like before.

You were over at the Byers’ house for a while, so that you could get out of your little cabin for once and stop yourself going stir crazy. The kids had been over but they were slowly, one by one, being filtered out by parents or siblings. Dustin was left, and so was Max, who you had gotten to know a little bit ever since they all saw you kissing Jonathan.

She had expressed that she was phased by absolutely nothing after what happened in November, finding out about the demodogs and El, and everything else that was going on. You and Jonathan having little make-out sessions was the least of her worries.

Steve came by and picked up Dustin. You had only met him a few times but he seemed nice enough and was kind enough to pick up and drop off Dustin when he needed it. They had quite a unique relationship, but it was one you kind of admired. Steve clearly cared about Dustin, and vice versa, even if they showed it in unusual ways.

“You need a ride home?” Steve turned and asked Max after Dustin had grabbed his things.

She looked over at him and shook her head. “Billy’s being a decent person for once so he’s coming to get me.”

You’d heard about Billy and how he really was not the best person in the world. But Max talked about him like there was something else going on at home and you couldn’t help but feel bad for the both of them. Anyone who was truly that angry must have some deep-rooted issues.

Steve nodded his head and gently pushed Dustin out of the door, the two of them saying goodbye as they walked out.  Steve closed the door behind him, leaving just the four of you in the house.

Jonathan had been dying to talk to you but he wanted to wait until Max was gone, because then it was likely Will would retreat to his room. Then he would be able to talk to you and give you all the love and attention he wanted to give you before his mother came home for the night.

You heard a car come down the little road that led to the Byers’ and you assumed it was Max’s older brother. The car door shut with a loud thud and Max quickly packed up her things, Will understanding and packing away what was left of their game. Jonathan sighed, getting up to open the door for the boy everyone seemed to hate so much.

And then in walked Billy Hargrove and you had to take a second to run through your racing thoughts. You recognised this boy. You  _knew_ him. Sure, he looked drastically different, his shaved head now turned to long, blond, curly locks. His skinny body now muscular and toned. But it was still him. You would know him anywhere, just as you knew El.

* * *

_Three of you were in a room, barely 10 years old. 007. 008. 009. All having your abilities tested. They usually did this alone but they thought it would be a good idea to do some group work. They were entirely wrong._

_It started out nice. Eight showed you some butterflies, turned the room into a sunset, and then you were at a beach, soft sand underneath your feet. Her abilities were beautiful, passive, unlike everyone else’s you had seen in your time. it was your turn to show off next; a flame rising to your hand. It was weak – you hadn’t yet fully mastered your abilities, but the other two were fascinated by it nonetheless._

_Seven, however, was worse than both of you. He didn’t mean to have this kind of ability. He could move things without lifting a hand, warp metal, crush objects. He flung the metal table into a wall causing you and Eight to jump back in fear. It fell to the floor, crumpled up and almost pooling as if it was melting._

_He noticed it. He noticed the way you looked at him with nothing but fear in your eyes. He swallowed thickly, knowing it was him that caused it. Instead, he held out his hands, beckoning the two of you to come forward. You exchanged a look with Eight but decided you would go to him and see what else he had to offer._

_“More,” he said, and the researcher in the room with you came forward and handed him a small knife. Seven cut his hand slightly, the blood pooling out and dripping onto the floor in small droplets. But he dropped the knife, it’s metal rattling on the floor before settling next to the blood. He held his other hand above the wound he had created and worked his magic. He could warp any material, and that meant he could warp wounds. He could fix them, make them better, make them not hurt anymore._

_You and Eight watched in amazement at his power, eyes wide in admiration. Such destruction yet such beauty. You didn’t know what to think of it._

* * *

His eyes landed on you and for a moment you thought he recognised you, too. But there was nothing but emptiness in his gaze as he shifted his eyes over to Will and Max, who were quickly hugging goodbye. The two of them left swiftly, barely saying goodbye, Will ran off to his room, and Jonathan sat back down next to you on the couch after waving Max away.

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Jonathan asked. Your eyes were still fixed on the door. You had seen a ghost, or at least someone who  _should_ be a ghost.

“I…” you started, unsure of how to say it. “I know him.” You looked over at Jonathan who looked extremely confused.

“You do?” He questioned, uncertainty in his voice. He put his hand on top of yours, noticing your slight shaking. He dragged his thumb gently over your knuckles and you immediately calmed down in reaction to his touch.

You took your other hand and touched your tattoo gently. “He’s one of us.”

Jonathan sat back, thinking to himself. He’d never seen Billy do anything out of the ordinary. And he’d never seen a tattoo. He pointed that out to you and you sighed. He’d had the same tattoo you had, and El had, and every other experiment had. 007.

“Maybe he got it lasered off?” Jonathan questioned while you were thinking about how he managed to hide his abilities all this time. Although you thought, if you tried, you’d be able to manage it, too.

You nodded, removing the tattoo would be a possibility, but you had noticed the watch he wore on his left wrist. “Maybe he just covers it up.” You chewed your lip as Jonathan watched you, equally trying just as hard to understand the situation. “Do you think I could talk to him?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. He’s an asshole, I don’t know what he’d do to you.” His grip on your hand tightened as if just talking about it meant he would lose you.

“I’ll be fine. I just want to know what happened.” You squeezed his hand back, trying to reassure him.

Jonathan took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

Jonathan had managed to convince Billy to come around to his house so that you could talk. He did have to trick him a bit, saying Max needed to come home when she really didn’t. The kids were left playing a game in Will’s room when Billy walked in through the door. They were too loud to hear the creak of the door and heavy footsteps drag through the house.

“Where’s Max?” Billy asked, leaning back onto the door which he had just closed.

Jonathan stood up from where he was sitting, leaving you on the couch on your own. “She doesn’t actually need to go home.” He took a breath before looking back at you. “Amber wanted to talk to you about something.”

Billy rolled his eyes. “Why would your dumb girlfriend want to talk to me?” He stared daggers at you and you felt extremely uncomfortable with the way he looked at you. How could it be that he didn’t remember you when you remembered him so clearly?

You stood up, wiping your sweaty palms quickly on your thighs and walked towards him, giving Jonathan a look of “it’s okay” since you could tell he was getting a little agitated. You stopped a few feet in front of Billy and rolled up your sleeve, tilting your wrist so that he could see the tattoo.

Billy’s demeanour immediately changed. Before he was confident. Now, he was the scared little kid in the lab again. He flicked his eyes to look up at you, worry washing over him. He took off the watch he was wearing, and right enough, he’d had it lasered off, but the scar still remained, lightly showing off the numbers if you looked at it closely.

“You remembered me?” Billy said, staring down at his own scarred wrist. He sounded confused and he ran a hand through his hair.

“You didn’t remember me.” You said flatly, pulling your sleeve back down to hide your mark.

He sighed a heavy sigh, looking away from you. “I try not to think about it.”

You motioned for Billy to sit down and he did, needing it after he felt all the life drain from him. He thought he would never have to think about it ever again. He thought he would never see another person from the lab ever again. But being back in Hawkins, of course, he was wrong. He’d always be wrong.

Billy told you all about how his mom and dad tried so damn hard to get him out of the lab. And they managed it, eventually. One day he was gone, vanished off to California where he couldn’t be found by Hawkins lab officials. He thought that all was good. He was taught to function properly, talk properly, act properly. But he couldn’t control his powers properly, not fully, and sometimes he would do things by accident. He was only a kid. He would throw tantrums and it would end with things breaking, ornaments flying everywhere, walls broken by a mere touch. He couldn’t help it.

But his dad began regretting his decision to take him home. Every time Billy lost control, he’d be beat, as if that was any way to help a kid stay in control. But it worked, kind of. He’d managed to suppress his powers just enough and he hadn’t used them in years. Not when he fell down and got hurt, not when he saw his friends being hurt, not when he saw his mother dying. She’d made him promise never to use them, and he kept that promise all the way up to this day.

You and Jonathan listened intently to Billy and his story. How he escaped, how sometimes he wishes he was back in the lab because at least he wouldn’t deal with beatings once a day. You felt bad for him, you really did. But you were also aware he was an asshole and you weren’t quite sure how he could be that way when he knows what it’s like to be treated like that himself.

“Why are you back here?” You asked him, realising the last place he should be is back in Hawkins.

He grumbled and sank into the sofa. “I don’t know. I guess my dad hopes they’ll find me and take me away again.”

You heard a door creak open, and looked over to see Max popping her head out, the rest following her out of the room.

“I heard your voice so I guess you’re here to take me home?” She questioned, noticing how Billy’s entire act was completely different. There were no more cold eyes, no more furrowed brows.

“I… yeah.” Billy stood up but you caught his hand before he walked away completely.

“You should tell her.” You said, glancing over at Max. He yanked his hand away from you, feeling Jonathan’s eyes on his back silently screaming for the two of you to stop touching.

“Tell me what?” She looked as confused as the rest of the party did and you decided you would let Billy make his own decisions, as much as you wanted them to know.

Billy ran a hand through his curls, but his eyes landed on El and he felt compelled to tell them about who he was.

“I'm…” He paused and looked to you for guidance, asking you to say it for him.

You looked over at Max who was still looking confused. “He’s like me.” You paused, switching your glance to El. “Like us.”

They all looked at each other, mumbling a chorus of “no fucking way” and “what the hell” and various other curses that you were pretty sure thirteen-year-olds shouldn’t know.

“Prove it,” Dustin said, shaking his hand in the air, telling Billy he needed to show him his number.

Billy took off the watch he had since out back on and showed his wrist out to the kids. Max ran her fingers along the scarred numbers, looking back at Dustin.

“He is.”

“Doesn’t matter, he’s still an asshole.” Lucas chimed in and you couldn’t disagree. Powers were useless if you weren’t a good person.

Billy sighed and looked back over at you once more.

“He’s right.” You said to him and he gave you a disgruntled look. “You have to change.”

“Or I can just forget this ever happened and go back to not being a freak. Come on, Max, let’s go.” Billy started towards the door, Max following suit.

“Whatever, Billy. Just be on the lookout. We might need you one day with those powers of yours.” Jonathan said, finally coming in on the conversation.

Mike’s head snapped up. “What is it you can do?” He asked, realising that wasn’t established.

Billy’s hand dropped from the doorknob. “I can… move things? and reshape things?” He was entirely unsure how to explain it and he really did not want to show them out of fear of making the entire house crash down on everyone. “And I can…” he looked around, searching for something he could show off on. He remembered Max had fallen off her skateboard the other day and had cuts down her arm. “Can you take your jacket off?” He asked her with pleading eyes.

Confused, she did as he asked, revealing the small cuts which covered her right arm. Billy took it gently in his left hand, wary of the fact he knew their relationship was not the best. He gave her a reassuring nod before lifting his right hand to her. The cuts started to fade and everyone watched in awe. Max’s eyes went wide and he grasped at her arm where the cuts once were while Billy stood up and rubbed the blood from his nose. You noted that somehow you were the only one who had managed to get past that.

“Let’s go.” He said once more, reaching again for the doorknob. Max nodded her head quickly and the two left, leaving everyone else in complete and utter shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jonathan expresses his worries that Billy might steal you away from him, but you reassure him that that is definitely not the case.

Everyone had quickly scrambled to the coffee table in the living room, you and Jonathan sitting on the sofa, Will and Mike sitting on each armrest, Lucas taking another chair and Dustin and El on the floor.

“What the hell just happened?” Dustin was the first to clear the silence that had blanketed over the room

You and Jonathan looked at each other, unsure of who should talk. Jonathan decided he would, for now.

“Amber recognised Billy when he picked up Max last time. I asked Billy to come over and pick up Max early so we could talk to him about it.” Jonathan explained and the kids all nodded as if they understood.

“Did you recognise him, El?” Mike asked, making El look up from the floor. She was clearly trying to process what it would be like with  _another_  person like her.

She shook her head. “Separate,” El explained. You had only really remembered seeing El in the lab a handful of times in your 17 years there. You were lucky she had recognised you at all.

They did tend to keep most of you separate anyhow, you could only remember seeing Billy, Eight, El and maybe a couple others but definitely not eleven or even more experiments.

“He hasn’t been there in…” You thought back to how long it had been since Billy escaped. There was a widespread panic but they made it out to be a malfunction in their servers or something you wouldn’t understand. But it made sense now. “Six, maybe seven years?” Billy not being there for that long meant it was likely El had never had any interaction with him given how young she is.

“Well, what do we do now that we know?” Lucas asked, leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on his knees. He clasped his hands together and leaned his chin on them in thought.

“He could help us if anything ever happens again. And that’s likely with all the weird shit that’s been happening lately.” Dustin stood up from his spot on the floor and paced a little, fixing his cap on his head.

It was definitely likely something would spark soon, you could feel it. Especially with the lab knowing you’re still out here, and probably knowing El is, too. And if they find Billy, you’d be in even more trouble than before.

“That asshole wouldn’t help us.” Lucas retorted back to Dustin. You still didn’t know  _what_  Billy had done but it was clearly not something good.

“I don’t know. Steve helped us right? He helped Dustin and then with the tunnels? And we all know how big of a douchebag Steve was.” Mike said from his spot at the end of the sofa.

Dustin and Lucas both nodded, agreeing that there was maybe a possibility Billy could change. He wasn’t always the way he is now, you knew that.

You all dropped the conversation, agreeing it wasn’t something that really needed to be talked about right this moment, at least not by the kids. They brought their game through to the living room and continued playing it there, trying to explain the mechanics of it to you and how everything works. They said you could be a mage, like El, but none of it really made sense to you.

Eventually, the time came for the kids to have to go home and it was just you and Jonathan left again. Hopper had offered to take you back to the cabin with El but you wanted to stay with Jonathan for a bit more, and he said he’d take you back at the end of the night. Will had stayed with the two of you for a bit, trying to wrap his head around the whole situation but left after a while with a murmur of “this is a bad idea”.

You and Jonathan had decided it was nothing and went back to sitting on the couch together. You had noticed all evening how Jonathan had become hesitant in touching you, even more so than he had been at first. You had tried to cuddle into him but he just seemed uncomfortable with it.

“What’s wrong?” You sat up, crossing your arms over your chest as an act of defence. You hadn’t done anything wrong, at least not that you knew of.

“Oh, what? Nothing.” Jonathan refused to look at you as he stumbled slightly over his words.

“Jonathan.” You said in a sterner voice and he flashed his eyes at you and they were deep with worry. You reached out to touch his hand gently. “What’s wrong?”

He sighed, flipping his hand over to hold yours in his. “It’s just Billy.” He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about what to say. “It’s kind of dumb, I guess.”

You blinked at him in question. “Why?”

“It’s just – I keep thinking about how you and Billy are so similar and -”

“We are not the same.” You cut him off, you didn’t want to be an asshole like Billy supposedly was.

Jonathan closed his eyes in regret. “No – no, not like that. I mean with your powers. I keep thinking he’ll take you from me.” His voice had reduced itself to a whisper and he furrowed his brow like he knew what he was thinking wasn’t rational.

“Why would he…?” You trailed off, unknowing of how to express your words.

“I’m so… normal, and boring, and plain. But Billy’s like you. Why wouldn’t you want to be with him?” Jonathan sounded so insecure and defeated and it made your heart sink in your chest.

Of course, he was right. But he was entirely wrong at the same time. It would be nice to be with someone like you, but if that person was Billy Hargrove, someone who literally every single one of the people you had come to call friends hated, then that wasn’t going to happen. And you couldn’t deny the intensely warm feeling Jonathan’s presence conjured up every time he was near. Every time you would hear his voice on the phone. Every time he brushed his gentle fingers across your arm.

You couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. You had always been Jonathan’s, and you always would be. You needed someone who was so kind as to take a complete stranger into his home and look after them. You needed someone who would always be there for you no matter what. You needed someone who would love you unconditionally through whatever happens. And you knew that someone would be Jonathan Byers.

You squeezed his hand gently. “Jonathan.” You whispered, tears welling up in your eyes. “Don’t say things like that.”

Jonathan immediately pulled you closer to him and you buried your face into his neck, his arms wrapping around you tightly. “I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.”

You nodded against him, pulling away from him slightly to look up at him. “I know. But you know I promised I wouldn’t leave you. I meant it.”

His brown eyes glazed over with tears and you brought your hands to his face to catch them before they fell, swiping your thumbs under his eyes. “You will always be mine.”

Jonathan nodded his head, taking the opportunity to kiss you gently on the lips. You snuggled into him afterwards, his arm draping over your shoulders. You had originally planned to watch a movie or something until Joyce came home but the two of you fell asleep in each other’s arms within minutes. You couldn’t help it with the steady rhythm of his heart playing in the ear that was pressed against his chest or the calming rise and fall of his chest. Jonathan stroked your hair absentmindedly, watching you slowly fall asleep before slipping into a slumber himself.

You woke up with a blanket draped over you, and unusually still in more or less the same position you had fallen asleep in. Jonathan was still sleeping soundly and you slowly moved from him to try and not wake him, but you failed.

Jonathan groaned slightly, shifting his body to sink further into the sofa, and you thought that might be it, that he was still asleep. But after a few seconds, he fluttered his eyes open and looked up at you staring down at him. He smiled a sleepy grin and you sat back down on the sofa, bringing a hand to his face to brush some of his hair away from his eyes.

“We slept here all night?” Jonathan asked, his voice slightly croaky having just woke up.

You looked at the clock on the other side of the room, reading 7:34 am. You turned back and nodded and Jonathan closed his eyes again and slumped back into the sofa. “It’s Monday, isn’t it?” He asked you, peeking one eye open to look at you.

“Yeah.” You patted Jonathan on the knee before getting up once more to find something to drink. Jonathan reluctantly followed you into the kitchen.

“I gotta go to school today, so I can drop you home on the way if you want,” Jonathan suggested, grabbing some glasses out of the cupboard while you grabbed some orange juice from the fridge.

You hummed a “yes” in response, unscrewing the cap for the juice and pouring it carefully into the glasses.

Will bounded into the kitchen, already dressed and ready to go to school. Jonathan wasn’t due to leave for another 20 minutes or so but Will generally got ready pretty early.

“Hey kid, you want some breakfast?” Jonathan asked, reaching into the bread bin, already knowing Will’s answer would be yes, and that he’d like some toast.

Will threw his bag over to the door and went to sit at the table. You grabbed another glass for Will and poured him some juice, bringing it over to him along with yours as you sat down across from him.

Jonathan looked over at you as he popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster, asking silently if you wanted some too. You nodded and he grabbed a few more slices of bread ready to go in when Will’s was ready.

Will’s was plated up first and he wasted no time is shoving the slices into his mouth. Jonathan brought yours over as soon as it was ready then left to get changed into some clean clothes and wash up a little.

“Do you think they’ll come back for you?” Will asked, finishing off his first slice of toast. He looked up at you, his hazel coloured eyes wide. You didn’t know how he could be so awake this early, or how he could think about questions like that at this time.

You blinked at him, surprised at his question. “Yeah?” You didn’t know what else to say, you thought it was fairly obvious they would be searching for you and El and maybe even Billy if they knew about him.

“I hope you’ll be okay.” He said, mouth full of another bite of toast.

You gave him a warm smile, the corners of your eyes crinkling at his kindness. Will had been through too much for a thirteen-year-old kid.

Jonathan eventually came back through, stating that you should really get going if they weren’t going to be late. Will tipped the plates into the sink and the three of you made your way outside.

Jonathan dropped you off, giving you a warm smile as you got out of his car. You were welcomed by El who was already up and about but asked no questions as to where you had been, recognising the sound of Jonathan’s car pulling away from the house.

You led yourself to your room, flopping down on the bed. You couldn’t stop thinking about what Will had asked you. The bad men were definitely coming back. The question was when?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper doesn’t call as per his usual daily routine, and naturally El freaks out. Turns out - she has a reason to be.

You couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened. You’d been reunited with El, who you hadn’t known very well but it was comforting to know you had someone like you to watch your back, and now Billy, who might be an asshole but was just as part of your family as El was. You didn’t know if you could change him, but you had a sneaking suspicion that if you or El needed help, he’d come to the realisation he could be good again.

You had a bad feeling, though – that something bad was about to happen. You couldn’t figure out why, you could just feel it in the air. You had trouble sleeping through the night, wary of what happened last time you got too comfortable in your surroundings. But morning came, and you were safe. Only, the others were not.

“Amber, something’s wrong.” El’s worried voice woke you up from the little sleep you had managed to get. She was standing in your doorway, eyebrows furrowed.

“Hm?” You hummed, barely awake. You rolled over to look at her and sat up when you saw how distressed she looked “What’s wrong?”

“He always radios at eight-one – eight fifteen. He hasn’t.” You knew she was talking about Hopper, he always called in in the morning to let the two of you know he was OK.

“What time is it now?” You asked, searching your room for a clock that wasn’t there.

“Almost nine,” El said quietly, looking back out of the room like she had heard something.

You nodded and rubbed the sleep from your eyes. “Okay. We’ll see what’s going on.”

“You get dressed. I’ll see if I can see him.” El pulled a blindfold from her pocket and left your room, leaving you to change into some clothes.

You walked out to El sitting on the floor, the TV turned to static. You hadn’t ever seen her do this, visiting the in between to find people. You watched carefully, wary of the noise you might make if you moved considering the cabin creaked with every tiny movement.

El pulled off the blindfold in one swift movement, a trickle of blood running from her nose. She stood up and looked over at you. “I can’t find him.”

“Can I try?” You asked, reaching out for the blindfold. Your powers were more established than hers, perhaps you’d be able to look for Hopper.

She shrugged and handed the blindfold to you. “You can try.”

You nodded and sat down on the floor in front of the TV, tying the blindfold around the back of your head. El turned the TV up, the white noise growing louder and drowning everything else out. You tried to focus on Hopper, on where he might be. Slowly you felt your consciousness drift out of your own body and into something… different. You weren’t  _you_  anymore, you found yourself stuck amidst a dark plain.

You looked all around yourself, trying not to freak out at this new experience. You swallowed thickly and took a few deep breaths before searching. You saw something – no, someone – in the distance. As you ran closer to the figure you found it was Hopper, tied up in a chair and unconscious from the looks of it. You took a step back, unsure of what to do. You couldn’t see his surroundings, nor could you sense other people nearby. You had no way of knowing where he was, only that he was in trouble.

You looked closely at him for more details. He wasn’t tied up using rope, but handcuffs. You thought maybe this would be professionals for that but then again, Hopper was a policeman and he carried his own. You stopped in your tracks when you walked behind him. You’d know those plastic chairs anyway.

You were pulled away from the in-between when El touched you on your shoulder. You gasped for air, ripping the blindfold from your eyes. You squinted at her as your eyes readjusted to the light in the room, but the blood trickling from your nose caught your more immediate attention. That hadn’t happened in a long time; maybe it was the new power?

You wiped the blood from your nose with your hand and looked up at El.

“Did you see him?” She asked you, voice filled with a small hint of hope.

You nodded, standing up and walking over to the sink to wash the blood from your face and hand. “He’s… tied up?”

El’s eyes went wide and she almost darted to the door in an attempt to go find him, but she realised she didn’t know where to look. Though, she did have a good idea.

“I think he’s in the lab.” You said quietly, not wanting to admit it to yourself. You didn’t want to go back there ever again, but you were in for a rescue attempt at least. And who knows if they had someone else? If they had Joyce or one of the kids or Jonathan?

You sighed as you wiped the blood off with a cloth, trying not to overthink everything.

“How do we get to him?” El asked you, sitting down on one of the chairs, leaning her head in her hands.

You pressed your lips together as you thought. You didn’t have a phone here so it wasn’t like you could call for help. And it was a Tuesday, everyone you knew who could help would be at school anyway, so it was rather pointless to look for them.

Your eyes landed on the radio and you remembered that the boys carried walkie-talkies with them. They probably wouldn’t have them with them at school, but if Will left his at home, maybe Joyce would hear it if she wasn’t working at her job, or captured too with Hopper.

“Do you know… how to work that?” You asked, pointing over to the radio. El’s eyes followed your hand over to it.

“Yeah. I think?” She got up and walked over to where it was sitting. “Why?”

“Do you think you can contact the boys’ walkie-talkies?” You put the cloth down and joined El next to the radio. You had zero clue as to how to work anything on it.

El nodded her head and turned a few of the knobs on it, trying to find the right frequency for the boys. You had very little hopes that it would actually work but it was worth a shot. When El was sure she found the right frequency, she picked up what you assumed was the microphone and spoke into it.

“Mike?” She started, pausing to see if there would a response. “Dustin? Lucas? Will?” There was no answer and she dropped the mic back onto the table.

You sighed and looked out the window, thinking of something – anything you could try. You couldn’t drive, not that there was a car here anyway. You couldn’t just walk out of the cabin, particularly not with the winter snow still lying on the ground. You could use your powers until you got out of the woodland area, but the second you were in town you’d have no immediate protection.

Static from the radio caught your attention, and El immediately picked the mic back up, ready to respond to whoever was on the other side.

“El? El is that you?” You breathed a sigh of relief as you recognised Joyce’s voice over the radio.

El smiled up at you, happy that she gained someone’s attention.

“Yes, it’s me. And Amber.” She said into the mic. “We need your help.”

“What’s wrong?” You knew Joyce’s worried voice, and that was it.

“Hopper didn’t radio to say he was okay. Amber said he’s tied up in the lab.” El went straight to the point, you had no time to mess around.

Joyce didn’t respond straight away and you thought maybe something was wrong with her too. But the static kept coming and going as if she was going to say something and then was stopping herself.

“I’ll… I’ll come to you. Don’t move.” She said and didn’t respond after, clearly already on her way to meet you guys.

Not moving seemed like a rather dumb idea, but you had little choice. You just had to hope and pray that the lab knew nothing about this place and that you’d be safe for the now until Joyce turns up and you could come up with a plan.

It didn’t take Joyce long; you could hear the crunch of her boots in the snow and you went to open the door for her. She gave you a warm smile, rubbing her hands together as she entered the cabin to warm herself up. El had already made up some coffee to help with the biting cold and she accepted it with kind eyes and a small thank you.

“You said you saw Hopper?” Joyce finally asked El, who shook her head and pointed over to you instead.

“No, Amber did.”

Joyce raised her eyebrows as if she wasn’t expecting you to have the same abilities as El, nor that you would be the one to find him. But she simply nodded gently and took a sip of her coffee. “And he’s in the lab?”

You bit your lip, not wanting to think about what Hopper might be having to endure. “Yeah, I know the chairs.”

“Time for a rescue mission then?” Joyce joked slightly, making both you and El let out small laughs. “But we can’t go just now, it would be better to do it at night-time.”

Joyce was right. It was too light during the daytime, you’d barely make it inside without being caught, if that. You would most definitely have to wait until dark if you had any chance of succeeding. Which also meant you could get more people in on it, as much as you hated the idea of them getting caught, or worse.

You were thinking more specifically Billy. With his abilities, he could help you a lot in the lab, particularly if either of you got hurt. You were having doubts, however, if he would even agree to help you at all.

Joyce stayed with you for the next few hours, trying to draw out a plan for later in the evening. It would be a lot easier with Billy since the lab likely wouldn’t recognise his more grown-up face. He could waltz right in undetected and find his way to Hopper. But if you couldn’t get him to help, the plan would be that you would be able to get in by frying the systems with your electrical powers, hopefully not setting off too many alarms, and sneak your way in through a back door. You’d find Hopper – somewhere – and try and get him out.

It was more likely though that you’d run into guards and soldiers though, and so Joyce made an effort of keeping you fed and watered with what little food you kept to make sure you wouldn’t run out of strength if you had to fight. You were more worried about El, whose nose still bled with each use of her powers. If you used yours for too long, you’d more likely just feel exhausted, but the constant flow of blood coming from El could be enough to kill her if it kept up for long enough. You made a mental note to make sure that didn’t happen.

Joyce decided that since it had now gotten to the mid-afternoon, she should go back and check on Jonathan and Will when they got home. She took you and El with her though, saying her house was bigger and would be more suitable for a meetup point than your cabin due to its closeness to the lab. You reluctantly went with her, wary of the fact there might be people there to scoop her up and take her next. And if they saw you and El – you were in big trouble.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gathers in the Byers’, going over the plan to rescue Hopper from the lab. You tear yourself away from Jonathan for hopefully the last time in order to enter the lab.

The Byers’ house was once again your safe haven, free from the prying eyes of Hawkins Lab for now. You waited around for a bit, Joyce making sure you and El were both fed and watered before the boys came back from school.

Jonathan stopped in his tracks when he saw you and El sitting at the dining table, his eyes flicking between each of you, trying to mentally figure out what the hell was going on.

Will skipped in, however, giving El a hug when he noticed her sitting there and you a bright smile. He was first to ask what was wrong.

The three of you exchanged looks, asking each other silently who was going to explain the situation you had found yourselves in. How were you going to tell Jonathan you had to go to the lab? How could you do something like that to him? You knew if you went in there, there would be a possibility of you not coming back out, and while you weren’t wholly frightened of that - the prospect of rescuing Hopper still number one priority for you right now - you knew Jonathan would probably have a breakdown at the idea. You promised him you wouldn’t leave, did that mean doing this, too?

Joyce piped up, noticing both yours and El’s silence, she explained what had happened, that Hopper didn’t radio on time, that you saw him in the lab, that you were now planning a breakout. A dangerous breakout.

Jonathan couldn’t stop glancing over at you the entire time Joyce was talking. The reality of it washed over him when his mother stopped talking and all he could manage to do was lean back in the chair had found himself sitting in. He was scared. He was scared for Hopper. He was scared for El. He was scared for you.

But you couldn’t just leave Hopper there since you had no way of knowing just what kind of things they would do to him. They could drug him or do tests on him or even kill him and fake his death. No one else would know but your group.

Will ran off afterwards to go radio the other boys, telling them to make their way over as soon as possible. Jonathan phoned both Nancy who had already been informed by Mike and then Steve afterwards to let them know what was going on. Both insisted on coming over right away. Will mentioned that Lucas would stop by and get Max on the way over, asking first if they should tell Billy too. You thought about it for a bit and told them they could tell him if they wanted, but not to expect him to help considering his background history with the party.

You weren’t fond of the idea all of the crucial people in your life all being in the same place at the same time where they could all be easily hurt if the lab decided to pay the Byers’ a visit. It seemed like your worries were being swept under the table though, no one else sharing your concerns for the others’ safety, only Hopper’s. Of course, they were concerned about everyone else but they had decided it was worth the risk. You weren’t so sure.

To your surprise, the rumble of Billy’s Camaro was the first noise to spark outside. Everyone’s heads jolted up at it, staring out the window as Billy and Max hopped out.

“You think he’ll help?” You whispered over to Jonathan whose eyes were still glued to the pair out of the window.

He cocked his head to the side slightly in thought. “Well, he’s here, isn’t he?”

You nodded, the fact Billy even showed up was a step in the right direction. Perhaps he would stay behind, keep the others safe while you and El snuck into the lab.

Billy stayed mostly out of the way of everyone’s stares, Max explaining that he was apparently only here to keep her safe since if anything happened to her, it would be on him. But you could see his intrigue in the situation.

Slowly, the rest of the gang filtered into the Byers’. Nancy with Mike, Steve with Dustin, Lucas pedalling in on his bike. Max mentioned Billy  _had_  offered to give Lucas a ride but he didn’t want to leave his bike there. You were all surprised at Billy’s offer but made no mention of it in case it discouraged him from being as kind in the future.

Once everyone was in, Joyce re-explained the plan to everyone, you and El butting in every now and again to add more information or make tweaks to the plan. The boys had some useful insight, too, suggesting other ideas or what to do if you got stuck.

Jonathan had stood up, giving his seat up to Nancy when she came in. He spent the entire thing behind your chair, hands on your shoulders or on the sides of your arms, if only to remind himself you were still  _here_ , for now. You could feel that his hands were shaking, as much as he tried to mask it. You reached up often, touching his trembling hands to reassure him. You were terrified too, but you couldn’t show that - it would only make him worry more.

You and El went over the plan once more – fry their network, all hell goes loose, sneak in, find Hopper, get out. Billy wandered over halfway through though, causing you and El to stop your conversation and look up at him in question.

“Do you need me to help? I can come with you… or stay here, make sure these guys are safe?” Billy asked you and you looked over to El in shock. El looked the same way but nodded at Billy instead, accepting his help.

“You should stay.” She said, which you agreed with. Billy staying here would definitely give the gang more protection, you’d feel a little calmer knowing he would keep them safe.

“Alright. If you need anything just…” Billy thought for a second, looking around. His eyes landed on one of the boys’ walkie-talkies. He jogged over to it, asked Mike if he could borrow it, and brought it back over. “Take this? You need any help, you call it and ask. I’ll be there.”

You took the walkie-talkie from him, snapping it onto the waistband of your jeans. It was a smart idea in all fairness and would have been beneficial even if Billy hadn’t been here in order to give everyone updates on what was happening.

Jonathan had agreed to give you and El a ride over to the lab, dropping you off far enough away he wouldn’t be found out. You didn’t like the idea but the trek over to the lab was a bit too long for yours and El’s liking. The boys wanted to come too, but Joyce wouldn’t let them. It was far too dangerous in there for them and it would be even harder to be discreet with the four of them there. You didn’t think Will would actually be up to it anyway after what happened the last time the lab meddled. He was still recovering from his possession, the lab would most likely give him horrible flashbacks of the time and there was no way you could stand to let that happen.

You and El said your goodbyes – no, see-you-later’s – to the gang. You made sure all of the walkie-talkies were all switched to the right channel and that everyone had some sort of weapon just in case. Jonathan said he’d tell Billy the directions to the lab when he got back should he need to run off and help the two of you, but you were confident that you wouldn’t need his help.

You hopped into Jonathan’s car, El climbing into the back seat. Your hands were trembling at the prospect of going back into the lab. You really did not want to go back in there; you didn’t want to see those pristine white walls one more time, the odd sanitary smell that it gave off, the creaking sounds that were supposedly from the age of the building but you knew better. The entire idea of it was freaking you out completely but you had to keep your composure. For El’s sake, for the gang’s sake, for Jonathan’s sake.

Jonathan stopped not too far from the lab and El immediately got out after shooting Jonathan a reassuring smile. You hesitated for a bit before unbuckling yourself and reaching for the door. You didn’t want to say anything to Jonathan, that was far too emotionally jarring for you. But he stopped you, placing a hand gently on your shoulder and making you lean back into the car, turning to look over to him.

Jonathan pressed his lips together, he was going to cry. He knew it, you knew it, he wasn’t going to let it happen. He just cared so much about you, too much about you to just let you walk back into the place where you had been locked up your entire life. But he had to let you go, and trust that you would come back to him.

“Be safe.” He whispered, leaning forward to give you a small kiss on the lips. “Come back to me.”

You nodded and gave him a gentle kiss back. You sighed heavily before getting out of the car and turning to El who was outside waiting for you. You gave her a weak smile before she started for the lab. Jonathan drove off slowly and you watched him go before following El, wiping away tears from your eyes. You were going to do this. And the two of you were going to come out alive with Hopper. No doubts about it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and El find your way into the lab to rescue Hopper.

You and El found your way to the front of the lab, careful to stay out of sight when approaching the fence around it. There were a few armed guards out front, but what was more concerning to you was the cameras outside. If someone saw you through one of those your mission would be royally screwed.

You pointed them out to El and she sighed a little in frustration, turning her attention back to the couple of guards stationed outside of the fence. You would maybe be able to fry the cameras at the same time as frying the gate system, though you would only be able to do that if they were connected. If not, you’d have to keep your eye out and disable them one by one as you walked past them.

El decided she would take care of the exterior guards, flicking her head to the side in one swift movement. All of them dropped to the ground simultaneously and you just had to hope no one else would notice.

You crept up to the booth which had the gate controls inside. The man sitting there was asleep in his chair, leaning backwards almost enough that the chair could slip and fall. El also did the job, making the chair fall with such a force, the man was either dead or at least knocked out cold from the impact with the side of the booth.

You got inside the booth, opening the gate first before deciding to test your powers on the system. El kept watching outside just in case anyone decided to show up and disrupt your operation. You were about to use your powers to overload the circuit but El stopped you.

“Wait, wait, wait!” She said, grabbing your arm and pulling you away. You gave her a look of confusion as she knelt down beside a body. “We should wear these.”

It made sense to do that. Really, the only people who would recognise you would be the people who worked with you – the rest of the staff were just normal people who didn’t  _really_  know what happened in the lab. If you looked the part, you might be able to bypass people easier.

You helped her strip the soldiers out of their uniforms and in turn, put them on yourselves. They were a little big on El, but it wasn’t too noticeable, she’d get by easily.

You hauled the men’s bodies into the trees before setting off again on your plan. You entered the booth one last time and held your hands over the panel. A surge of energy found itself on your fingertips and travelled out and onto the panel, overloading it immediately. You looked up to see what was happening, keeping an eye on the cameras outside, searching for the red “on” light to fade.

The entire facility washed over in flashing red lights, a loud alarm going off too. But the cameras shut down, and you could see inside that there was a panic.

You looked towards El and she nodded, picking up her gun she’d taken from one of the guards and storming in the direction of the front door. You followed suit, taking your own and traipsing closely behind.

You made it to the front door without being spotted, and all the way over to the elevator. You knew the levels which Hopper might have been kept in – the ones towards the bottom of the facility. Unfortunately, they were locked behind a code and there was no way of getting down there without punching it in.

You tried your damned hardest to recall it – you’d seen it enough times throughout your time in the lab. They usually didn’t care whether you noticed or not, considering you weren’t supposed to be able to get out under their supervision. You stood there thinking for a few minutes until it came to you. 1179.

You put the number in, hoping they hadn’t changed it and pushed the number for the lower floors. The elevator began moving and you smiled to yourself, kind of proud that you had gotten it right.

“How do we find him?” El asked as the elevator was making its way down. You hadn’t really thought about that yourself. It wasn’t like you could just walk into each and every room you passed by, and down here the two of you were more likely to get noticed.

It wasn’t even like you could look to where you had previously seen Hopper when you were searching the in-between world – it didn’t show you the room, just the chair he was sitting on. And those were almost everywhere around here.

If you had to take a guess though, you would say solitary confinement or one of the observation rooms. You were unsure which of the lower levels they were on though. You just had to keep an eye out.

The elevator doors opened on your level and immediately you saw the panic the staff were in. a lot of them were running about shouting orders and trying to figure out what the hell happened and why the alarms hadn’t stopped yet.

You and El tried to make your way through the hustle and bustle as inconspicuously as possible, which proved to be very simple when no one was paying any attention to you. You kept an eye on the signs on the doors, looking through every window into every room possible, making sure you kept an eye for any trace of Hopper.

You reached the end of the hallway you were in, it split in two at the end but also leading to an elevator. You were looking at the signs in the corridor trying to find where you should go next in your search. You were stuck staring at the signage when El pulled at your arm.

“This way.”

You followed her down the new corridor, unsure really of why she had chosen it. Perhaps she just and an incline or maybe she remembered where everything was better than you did. Mostly because you chose to blank it out at every possible chance you got.

You followed her down a long corridor, through a door, and then another corridor you had never seen before. It seemed mostly empty, though there were a few doors every now and then. No windows. No way of looking in.

El finally stopped in front of one and looked up at it. She took a deep breath and turned to you. “This is it. He’s in here.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, noting the other identical doors in the corridor. He could be in any one of these. He might not even be here at all.

“I know it.” She said, opening the door without further approval from you.

You frowned, gripping the gun in your hand a little tighter just in case she had somehow gotten it wrong. Not that you knew how to use it. You’d probably drop it the second something went wrong and return to your powers.

You followed El into the room. It was an observation room, like the one you had been in before, yet you had never seen this corridor in your life. She made her way up to the glass and when she saw what was inside, her eyes welled up with tears. She placed her hand knowingly on the glass, wanting to reach inside.

You walked up beside her, and right enough, Hopper was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He was unconscious and all bloodied up. They’d beaten him real bad, and you were starting to doubt whether he was unconscious… or something else.

You left El looking through the window and went over to the door that led into Hopper’s room, trying the handle to see if it would open. There was no luck, and you glanced over at El to see if you could get her attention. She’d be able to blast the door open. Granted, you could harness the air, but that would be far messier and send everything flying. She could focus in on the door.

“Hey, El?” You asked, and she turned her attention over to you. You nodded to the door and she understood, going over and immediately breaking the lock on it. You made your way into the room, but El was more hesitant.

You went over to Hopper and tried to figure out how to get him out of the cuffs. They’d handcuffed his hands together, but also strapped his ankles to the legs of the chair. The legs were easier, you just burned right through the straps. The metal cuffs would be a problem.

“You have any idea how to get these off?” You asked El who was still standing by the door, her arms hugging herself tightly.

She came over and looked at them, and one hard state later, the locks inside had been turned. The cuffs fell with a clatter and the two of you snapped your head towards the door to make sure you weren’t heard. You’d closed the door behind you, so it was likely that the two of you were OK for now.

“How do we get him out of her without being spotted?” El asked you as you checked to make sure there were no other restraints holding Hopper down.

You weren’t entirely sure about that part. Hopper was a heavy man, so both of you would need to join in to drag him anywhere, but that would render your powers useless and limit El too. There was a wheelchair outside, just down the hall that you could maybe transport him with, but even then that would be suspicious. At least you’d be able to fight then though, and somehow make it out.

Static came through your walkie-talkie and pulled you out of your thinking process. You were slightly out of range and being underground couldn’t have made it easier, the words were barely intelligible.

You could hardly make it out - something about how it was going maybe? You weren’t quite sure but you decided to respond while you were still sure you were reasonably safe.

“We found Hopper. Trying to get him out now.” You were short and to the point, anything to minimise sound that would draw attention to your room.

You strapped the walkie-talkie back onto the waistband of the uniform you had put on earlier. You decided to head to the corridor and check out how busy it was. Earlier, the corridor had seemed fairly empty, so perhaps if the coast was still clear, you’d be able to grab the wheelchair that was outside.

You popped your head out of the doorway and noted the empty hallway. You crept out and managed to wheel the wheelchair through to Hopper’s room without being detected.

You and El heaved Hopper into the wheelchair. He was still unconscious but he was breathing. Hopefully, he wasn’t comatose - then you’d really have a problem. You were sure he’d wake up in a few hours, maybe a splash of cold water to his face, or a strong smelling perfume.

You wheeled Hopper out of the room, looking around you for signs of others. The staff that had once been there, panicking, were now gone. Returned to their stations, maybe? The alarm was still blaring and the red lights were still flashing so you had no idea what was going on. You just had to be thankful you made it this far without being caught.

When you got to the elevator, you picked up your walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

“We’re coming out - might be some resistance but get here soon.”

Jonathan had planned that he would stay far away enough to not be detected but close enough that he could get to you quickly.

“Be there soon.” You heard back. The sound of Jonathan’s voice was comforting, and you eased up a little as you stepped into the elevator.

The next step was getting Hopper out of the building, which would prove to be much more difficult. You’d both left the guns you’d picked up back in the room, neither of you would use them, even if you actually knew  _how_.

There were now far more people on the ground floor than there was before, and there was absolutely no way you were getting out of the facility without a fight.

A multitude of heads turned as the elevator dinged open. Some turned back to wherever they were doing, some took a double take, some were already taking up a fighting stance.

You wheeled Hopper out quickly, pushing the wheelchair into a corner and standing in front of it protectively.

You could already feel the sparks of lightning at your fingertips, itching to be released. El was readying herself for the fight that was about to take place.

Time seemed to slow as you noticed the armed guards aiming their guns at you, as you saw people scramble out of the way, as you saw others charging towards you. You didn’t know what to do. The first time you escaped, you didn’t run into anyone – they were too preoccupied with the demodogs running amok to notice you.

You thrust your hands forwards without thinking, a burst of lightning at your fingertips. It hit the guard who had been running towards you, sending him into shock, then chaining to three other people nearby causing more damage than you had intended to but you weren’t complaining. The four of them dropped to the ground, not dead, but not conscious either.

El was handling things her own way, throwing people out of her way, slamming them into walls, snapping their necks, anything to get them away from the two of you and Hopper. You were aware the noise might make him wake up, but right now your only focus was getting him out of here.

After you’d sent a ball of fire ahead of you, an opening for the front door became available. You took your chance, wheeling Hopper towards the door with El leading you, taking care of any stragglers. You watched headlights approach as you neared the door, sighing a breath of relief as you recognised the silhouette of Jonathan’s car.

He scrambled out, helping you pull Hopper into the backseat of the car while El kept watch. None of them dared to come out after you, knowing the destruction you could cause. No doubt it would be all over the news the next day, and you’d hoped the bad coverage would end them once and for all. But that wasn’t what was important right now. Right now, you had to get out of there, and fast.

El jumped into the backseat beside Hopper whilst you made your way into the passenger seat. Jonathan was speeding out the second he closed his door, not looking back. You were well on your way back to the Byers’, and you finally felt safe again.


End file.
